Horse-head Wall Reflects the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 70: The flower outside the window is inferior to the one in the painting.

"Guan Yin, I want to write about Cheng Mian's story."

He was always called 'Mr. Cheng' and was given the pen name 'Mr. Yin Yunshan' for no reason. When Guan Yin and Cheng Heng calmed down, they would call each other by their original names in full - in order to avoid being someone else for too long and gradually losing track of who they were.

The two didn't know how long they would stay here. So they were afraid, afraid that if this time limit was longer than the few years in reality...what kind of impact would this memory leave on them?
"Will anyone like to read a story like this?" Guan Yin knew that Cheng Heng was the one who was good at writing and acting stories, but at this moment he had to question it, "Can the audience really accept a story where the protagonist dies in the end?"

"Since it's a story, Cheng Mian won't die."

"Cheng Mian will be rescued by a girl, and after the two live together for a period of time, he will return to Cheng's father by accident."

The story of a talented man and a beautiful woman seems quite conventional, with loyalty and filial piety combined and a happy family. It is indeed easier for the audience to accept than the situation that Cheng Mian originally encountered.

We have to admit that Cheng Heng is very good at writing scripts. In just a few words, he has laid out a very story-like outline that not only conforms to the current social values, but will not be criticized even in the future.

"But is that girl here just a tool to fulfill the needs of the male protagonist?"

Putting down the brush in his hand, Cheng Heng turned his gaze to Guan Yin, and his frown gradually relaxed: "You have to know that there was no such girl in Cheng Mian's original story. It's actually nothing to flatten it a little."

"The audience will enjoy watching such a talented man and beautiful woman."

"What I mean is that what we need to solve now is to have enough food to eat and have extra money to do other things... It's not like when I'm a director, I have to consider social value, right?" Cheng Heng's explanation makes a lot of sense.

Only when everyone has enough food and drink and can have enough food and clothing, will people be willing to write and read stories that are rich in meaning and connotation, and will they listen to the voice of the times that the so-called high-level education wants to express.

"But why did you write Cheng Mian's story?"

"Isn't it because after hearing about it, you want to use the same father-son relationship to influence some people?" The two people have not known each other for a long time, but Guan Yin is full of trust in Cheng Heng. Maybe sometimes he trusts him more than Cheng Heng does. "Of course you are not just after a profit. Otherwise, it would be easier for you to completely avoid this story and write a script that others like to read, right?"

Cheng Heng's "Isn't it?" sounded more like he was trying to convince himself, while Guan Yin's "Isn't it?" became louder with the brief pause.

Now Cheng Heng, who was originally talking, stopped talking.

Guan Yin's words expressed his inner thoughts, but the story couldn't end with the hero dying in the river in such an unclear manner.

The bright warm yellow sunlight filled the whole room, and Guan Yin was quietly doing his own thing. From morning to night, he had been watching a group of students who were just playful and frolicking. Even though most of them did not jump around in the private school out of respect for the teacher, it was enough to give Guan Yin a headache.

"With this experience, even if the school asks me to be a class teacher, I might dare to try it when I go back." Although Guan Yin said this, he knew in his heart that if such a day really came, he would definitely struggle for a long time.

The premise of respecting teachers is of course that the teacher's own behavior is worthy of respect. But in the private school, Guan Yin had never had to face a unreasonable parent - Guan Yin asked himself that without three to five years, he would not be able to learn how the old teachers dealt with such parents.

"The class teacher should have extra money, right?" Cheng Heng said this lightly, just following up on his previous emotions. Even if it was an unintentional remark, it sounded like he was deliberately looking for trouble.

"Of course."

"Then everyone is rushing to do it?"

"Some teachers can do it, while some teachers wish they hadn't done it." In fact, for most public schools, being a class teacher is a thankless job.

The extra salary for a month as a head teacher is not much, but the personal time is almost zero. The head teacher is the first to arrive and the last to leave. He dares not turn off his mobile phone 24 hours a day, for fear that a teacher or a student's parent will call him without warning.

"Every day is spent in fear", this is what Guan Yin heard from an old teacher. Back then, the old teacher's father was seriously ill, and he did not dare to resign as the head teacher for the third grade class. He was busy for a year and his hair turned white.

In the end, not all students are grateful for the teacher's efforts. "I don't expect them to thank me for anything, but the attitude of some parents is really disappointing." The old teacher happened to be in charge of the school's "old to new" project, and every word he said was from the heart.

"They think there is a class teacher fee, but I actually spend the money I get every month on the children... I often have to make up for it myself."

"Being a class teacher is not as easy as you think, unless you don't plan to take too much responsibility, then it will be easy!"

After that, the old teacher's eyes fell on a young teacher who was about 35 or 36 years old. After a moment, he turned his eyes to Guan Yin: "Anyway, I don't know what others think. You should do your job well. Whether you are a teacher or a class teacher, there is actually not much difference in how you treat students."

It can be said that the leaders Guan Yin met along the way were all very upright. Therefore, in the past twenty years, Guan Yin's life has been smooth except for some hardship and fatigue.

What smoothness brings is the fear of all variables, and even the desire to avoid mistakes as much as possible, to do less and make fewer mistakes...

"People on the Internet say..."

"On the Internet, people say that you opera actors will have jobs after graduation, and that you receive subsidies from the government, so it's very easy."

In every industry there are always one or two scumbags who only eat and do nothing, but the fact is: no industry is easy.

"The predecessors planted the trees and the descendants enjoyed the shade. Without those patriotic and ambitious predecessors, our industry would probably still be looked down upon... But we have also witnessed the rise and fall of history and the exchange of culture."

No one can truly empathize with another person's situation unless they are in that situation themselves. After working as a teacher for a while, Cheng Heng realized that being a teacher is not as easy as one might imagine.

Similarly, Guan Yin took great pains to write those unpopular texts, but he was just using his original name of "coming from the music school", so even his neighbors would not take Guan Yin seriously...

Rhododendrons have ended along with midsummer. On the nearby Huangshan Mountain, the originally faintly visible clusters of pink have been scattered by the scorching sun, leaving only a patch of green.

The pines are greener, and the clouds are deeper.

Where the flowers once bloomed, there are many human figures.

"I almost forgot that Huangshan has been a famous tourist attraction for a long time." Cheng Heng, who was tired of writing and took a break, seemed to be intentionally pulling the two people's emotions out of their original depression. He walked around the yard to look around, and then turned back to look at Guan Yin who was still busy. Cheng Heng didn't know what Guan Yin was still busy with, and even Guan Yin didn't know what he was busy with every day - but he was busy, just like the months of internship at school, busy from morning to night...

"The azalea flowers on the shady side of the mountain are already dotted with flowers. Are the flowers on the mountain basically all in bloom?" Seeing that Guan Yin ignored him, Cheng Heng stepped over the threshold, his entire shadow cast on the table.

It's a bit of a hindrance.

Cheng Heng even did it on purpose, like a child deliberately trying to get scolded.

"What are you doing?" Guan Yin always felt that Cheng Heng was sometimes like a naughty child who had not grown up, but he couldn't get impatient or annoyed with him. "You're blocking the light. Move aside."

"Let's take a break and go see the mountains?"

People who are engaged in literature and art seem to be born with such a kind of eccentric thoughts. Cheng Heng was writing furiously just now, but in the blink of an eye
"We are still busy with these things. If you want to see the mountain, you might as well wait until we get back."

"Why do you think we can go back?"

This time, Cheng Heng finally got what he wanted and saw the person in front of him move. Guan Yin just stopped, stared at the paper in front of him, and after a moment he continued writing as if nothing had happened.

In fact, Cheng Heng himself knew the answer to this question.

Of course, no one promised them how they could go back, but only by believing that they could go back could the two of them find some meaning in their hard work. Things like clearing the injustice of an honest official could certainly inspire the two young people to persevere, but since it had nothing to do with them, it seemed too illusory after all.

"We never know what will happen in the future. You are tired now. What's wrong with us going hiking?" Cheng Heng's thoughts now are very simple. He is feeling suffocated in this small yard. What's more... apart from the script, what really attracts him is the stage.

It is the pleasure of releasing oneself on the stage, rather than sitting alone in a courtyard and wasting time on things that always seem illusory.

"If you want to go, go by yourself."

"It's such a big mountain, it's scary to go up there alone."

The vastness of the universe and the insignificance of human beings are often best reflected when one is alone.

Although Cheng Heng dares to think and act, what he longs for in his heart is that more people can stand on his side - the teamwork off the stage and the audience's expectations of the characters on the stage are exactly what Cheng Heng desires.

"The green mountains and flowing clouds are beautiful, or you can even go to the hot springs to relax." As long as you don't make trouble around me, it's fine. Guan Yin didn't say the second half of the sentence hidden in his heart. This was simply because he felt that Cheng Heng talked too much.

Just when he started writing, Guan Yin realized that the boy in front of him was younger than him. He had his own persistence, and after persisting for a long time, he also felt the same fatigue.

If I can slack off, why can't I let the people around me relax? So Guan Yin finally said seriously: "Soaking in hot springs can indeed soothe the body and mind. If you are too tired, it is good to relax."

After the identity exchange, the three of them worked in the industries they were best at. It was not difficult for three adults with hands and feet to have a little extra money...

"Forget it. It's easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it's hard to go from luxury to frugality." When Guan Yin really supported him, Cheng Heng's rationality returned. He began to judge whether his previous idea was reasonable or not, and whether it would bring difficulties to the things he had just started. "I can't guarantee that I will not want to do anything after enjoying it for a while."

Cheng Heng has tried his best to play the role of Cheng Jianwei, but now he is doing his own job. An inexplicable sense of separation makes Cheng Heng unable to completely put himself into the identity of Cheng Jianwei - people are more or less selfish, and before the critical point of decision, Cheng Heng does not know how to live for two people with different directions at the same time.

Now Guan Yin had a more admirable opinion of Cheng Heng.

People are selfish and their desires are unlimited. When it comes to serving politics, "preserving the principles of heaven and eliminating human desires" is not a truth that will last forever. But it does make sense for a person to avoid tasting the sweetness of his desires when he knows he can't control them.

So Cheng Heng sat down at the desk again.

This time there are no green pines, no white clouds, and not even the occasional bamboo shadows. Cheng Heng just held back his anger and wrote a slightly different character - this time, it was not the girl who saved the hero, and it was not the hero who saved the girl.

When the two staggered, the friendship between the same sex replaced the original "commitment of body". The soul of a down-and-out scholar entered the body of an official who fell into the river, and the female doctor who collected herbs saved the famous lady.

"From here, the secluded platform returns to the sun."

Cheng Heng wrote the lines of a play about a down-and-out scholar, mumbling "yintai" and "yangtai" while his pen sketched on the rice paper: "It's better to go to Youtai."

"Or maybe it's the Underworld?" Cheng Heng began to stroke his chin with the hand that was originally holding the paper. "I'll think about this later."

"The names of loyalty and filial piety are enshrined in the Lingyan Pavilion."

"That's all for this sentence..."

"But isn't it too slogan-like?" Guan Yin's eyes happened to fall on the words written by Cheng Heng. "I mean, if these words are spoken, won't the audience feel hypocritical?"

"I can see that you don't usually watch plays."

"You just have to believe what the people on the stage say. The characters on the stage will not lie to the audience."

The characters on the stage will not lie to the audience, but it is said that life is like a play, so who are the audience in one's life? Guan Yin was stunned by Cheng Heng's words.

“Then who are the audience of life?”

"Only yourself?"

Myself? A drop of ink fell on the rice paper in front of him along the brush in Guan Yin's hand. The gentle sound of "tick-tock" successfully brought Guan Yin's thoughts back to the present. A faint scent of ink rose from the clear distinction between black and white.